By Steve Gutterman and Andrew OsbornMOSCOW/SEVASTOPOL, Ukraine (Reuters) - Russia said any U.S. sanctions imposed on Moscow over the crisis in Ukraine will boomerang back on the United States and that Crimea has the right to self-determination as armed men tried to seize another Ukrainian military base on the peninsula.In a telephone conversation with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned against "hasty and reckless steps" that could harm Russian-American relations, the foreign ministry said on Friday."Sanctions...would inevitably hit the United States like a boomerang," it added.It was the second tense, high-level exchange between the former Cold War foes in 24 hours over the pro-Russian takeover of Ukraine's Crimean peninsula.Russian President Vladimir Putin said after an hour-long call with U.S. President Barack Obama that their positions on the former Soviet republic were still far apart. Obama announced the first sanctions against Russia on Thursday.Putin, who later opened the Paralympic Games in Sochi which have been boycotted by a string of Western dignitaries, said Ukraine's new, pro-Western authorities had acted illegitimately over the eastern, southeastern and Crimea regions."Russia cannot ignore calls for help and it acts accordingly, in full compliance with international law," he said.Serhiy Astakhov, an aide to the Ukrainian border guards' commander, said 30,000 Russian soldiers were now in Crimea, compared to the 11,000 permanently based with the Russian Black Sea fleet in the port of Sevastopol before the crisis.On Friday evening armed men drove a truck into a Ukrainian missile defense post in Sevastopol, according to a Reuters reporter at the scene. But no shots were fired and Crimea's pro-Russian premier said later the standoff was over.Putin denies the forces with no national insignia that are surrounding Ukrainian troops in their bases are under Moscow's command, although their vehicles have Russian military plates. The West has ridiculed his assertion.The most serious East-West confrontation since the end of the Cold War - resulting from the overthrow last month of President Viktor Yanukovich after protests in Kiev that led to violence - escalated on Thursday when Crimea's parliament, dominated by ethnic Russians, voted to join Russia.The region's government set a referendum for March 16 - in just nine days' time.JETS, DESTROYERTurkey scrambled jets after a Russian surveillance plane flew along its Black Sea coast and a U.S. warship passed through Turkey's Bosphorus straits on its way to the Black Sea, although the U.S. military said it was a routine deployment.European Union leaders and Obama said the referendum plan was illegitimate and would violate Ukraine's constitution.The head of Russia's upper house of parliament said after meeting visiting Crimean lawmakers on Friday that Crimea had a right to self-determination, and ruled out any risk of war between "the two brotherly nations".Obama ordered visa bans and asset freezes on Thursday against so far unidentified people deemed responsible for threatening Ukraine's sovereignty. Earlier in the week, a Kremlin aide said Moscow might refuse to pay off any loans to U.S. banks, the top four of which have around $24 billion in exposure to Russia.Japan endorsed the Western position that the actions of Russia constitute "a threat to international peace and security", after Obama spoke to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.China, often a Russian ally in blocking Western moves in the U.N. Security Council, was more cautious, saying economic sanctions were not the best way to solve the crisis and avoiding comment on the Crimean referendum.The EU, Russia's biggest economic partner and energy customer, adopted a three-stage plan to try to force a negotiated solution but stopped short of immediate sanctions.The Russian Foreign Ministry responded angrily on Friday, calling the EU decision to freeze talks on visa-free travel and on a broad new pact governing Russia-EU ties "extremely unconstructive". It pledged to retaliate."GUERRILLA WAR?"Senior Ukrainian opposition politician Yulia Tymoshenko, freed from prison after Yanukovich's overthrow, met German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Dublin and appealed for immediate EU sanctions against Russia, warning that Crimea might otherwise slide into a guerrilla war.Brussels and Washington rushed to strengthen the new authorities in economically shattered Ukraine, announcing both political and financial assistance. The regional director of the International Monetary Fund said talks with Kiev on a loan agreement were going well and praised the new government's openness to economic reform and transparency.The European Commission has said Ukraine could receive up to 11 billion euros ($15 billion) in the next couple of years provided it reaches agreement with the IMF, which requires painful economic reforms like ending gas subsidies.Promises of billions of dollars in Western aid for the Kiev government, and the perception that Russian troops are not likely to go beyond Crimea into other parts of Ukraine, have helped reverse a rout in the local hryvnia currency.In the past two days it has traded above 9.0 to the dollar for the first time since the Crimea crisis began last week. Local dealers said emergency currency restrictions imposed last week were also supporting the hryvnia.Russian gas monopoly Gazprom said Ukraine had not paid its $440 million gas bill for February, bringing its arrears to $1.89 billion and hinted it could turn off the taps as it did in 2009, when a halt in Russian deliveries to Ukraine reduced supplies to Europe during a cold snap.In Moscow, a huge crowd gathered near the Kremlin at a government-sanctioned rally and concert billed as being "in support of the Crimean people". Pop stars took to the stage and demonstrators held signs with slogans such as "Crimea is Russian land", and "We believe in Putin".IMPORTANT DIFFERENCESUkrainian Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk said no one in the civilized world would recognize the result of the "so-called referendum" in Crimea.He repeated Kiev's willingness to negotiate with Russia if Moscow pulls its additional troops out of Crimea and said he had requested a telephone call with Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.But Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov ridiculed calls for Russia to join an international "contact group" with Ukraine proposed by the West, saying they "make us smile".Demonstrators encamped in Kiev's central Independence Square to defend the revolution that ousted Yanukovich said they did not believe Crimea would be allowed to secede.Alexander Zaporozhets, 40, from central Ukraine's Kirovograd region, put his faith in international pressure."I don't think the Russians will be allowed to take Crimea from us: you can't behave like that to an independent state. We have the support of the whole world. But I think we are losing time. While the Russians are preparing, we are just talking."Unarmed military observers from the pan-European Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe were blocked from entering Crimea for a second day in a row on Friday, the OSCE said on Twitter.The United Nations said it had sent its assistant secretary-general for human rights, Ivan Simonovic, to Kiev to conduct a preliminary humans rights assessment.Ukrainian television has been replaced with Russian state channels in Crimea and the streets largely belong to people who support Moscow's rule, some of whom have harassed journalists and occasional pro-Kiev protesters.Part of the Crimea's 2 million population opposes Moscow's rule, including members of the region's ethnic Russian majority. The last time Crimeans were asked, in 1991, they voted narrowly for independence along with the rest of Ukraine."With all these soldiers here, it is like we are living in a zoo," Tatyana, 41, an ethnic Russian. "Everyone fully understands this is an occupation."(Additional reporting by Alissa de Carbonnel in Simferopol, Lidia Kelly in Moscow, Luke Baker and Martin Santa in Brussels, Steve Holland and Jeff Mason in Washington, Lina Kushch in Donetsk and Pavel Polityuk in Kiev, Writing by Paul Taylor and Philippa Fletcher; Editing by Angus MacSwan)

By DARLENE SUPERVILLE, Associated PressKEY LARGO, Fla. (AP) — The crisis in Crimea won't keep President Barack Obama from forging ahead with a weekend getaway with his wife and daughters in the Florida Keys.But it's more than the Oval Office that will be dark as Russia's incursion into Ukraine reaches its one week mark. Vice President Joe Biden and his wife are vacationing in the Virgin Islands. And national security adviser Susan Rice is traveling in the Middle East for meetings with her counterparts.White House spokesman Josh Earnest said "there's always a chance" Obama could cut a trip short and return to Washington, but this weekend's vacation appeared solid."The fact of the matter is what the president is doing this weekend in Florida is essentially what the president would be doing if he stayed back at the White House," Earnest told reporters traveling with Obama. The president, he said, was looking forward to "getting a little bit of downtime in the warm weather with his wife and daughters."Obama's vacation at a private club on one of the islands off Florida's southern tip was tacked onto an afternoon visit by the president and his wife, Michelle, to a Miami high school to announce new Education Department initiatives to help more students complete the paperwork needed to qualify for federal financial aid or student loans.Every president gets criticized for the amount of time he spends away from the White House, and Obama is no different.Paul C. Light, who teaches public service at New York University, said Obama would have been wise to remain in Washington. Being in Florida with a still-fluid situation in Ukraine "makes the president look less interested in the issue than he clearly is," Light said. "It's just very bad optics."Obama departed the White House one day after moving to levy financial sanctions and travel bans against those the U.S. accuses of threatening Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial borders. Officials in Crimea, a pro-Russian area of Ukraine, plan to hold a referendum March 16 to decide whether to become part of Russia.Obama and Biden's decision to continue with their weekend vacation plans appeared to be an indication that the White House did not expect any quick resolution to the dispute.The Obama family vacation comes just a few weeks after the president's long weekend at the Sunnylands estate in Rancho Mirage, Calif.Obama had gone to Sunnylands to meet with King Abdullah II of Jordan. He stayed behind with a gaggle of childhood friends to play golf on the desert property's 9-hole course and on a private, 19-hole course elsewhere in the city that is owned by supporter Larry Ellison, co-founder of the Oracle software company and one of the richest men in America.Obama will have plenty of opportunities to play golf this weekend, too.He checked his family into the Ocean Reef Club, a private, by-invitation-only membership club that is more of a gated, self-contained community sprawled across 2,500 acres on the northern edge of Key Largo. The property has two championship golf courses. There's also a swimming lagoon, tennis courts, a spa and fitness center, shopping and more than a dozen restaurants among the club's varied offerings.Obama flew by helicopter from Miami over the sun-kissed, blue waters of Florida Bay to arrive at the club's private airport. Scores of people apparently had driven their golf carts over to witness the arrival.The Republican National Committee used Obama's vacation to draw a contrast with Americans still grappling with a sluggish economy."While President Obama vacations in the Florida Keys and Vice President Biden is spending his weekend in the Virgin Islands, millions of middle-class Americans are hurting from their failed economic policies," RNC chairman Reince Priebus said.The vacation is Obama's third of the year.

According to a report in Kommersant-Ukraine, the finance ministry of Washington’s stooges in Kiev who are pretending to be a government has prepared an economic austerity plan that will cut Ukrainian pensions from $160 to $80 so that Western bankers who lent money to Ukraine can be repaid at the expense of Ukraine’s poor.http://www.kommersant.ua/doc/2424454*It is Greece all over again.Before anything approaching stability and legitimacy has been obtained for the puppet government put in power by the Washington orchestrated coup against the legitimate, elected Ukraine government, the Western looters are already at work. Naive protesters who believed the propaganda that EU membership offered a better life are due to lose half of their pension by April. But this is only the beginning.The corrupt Western media describes loans as “aid.” However, the 11 billion euros that*the EU is offering Kiev is not aid. It is a loan. Moreover, it comes with many strings, including Kiev’s acceptance of an IMF austerity plan.Remember now, gullible Ukrainians participated in the protests that were used to overthrow their elected government, because they believed the lies told to them by Washington-financed NGOs that once they joined the EU they would have streets paved with gold. Instead they are getting cuts in their pensions and an IMF austerity plan.The austerity plan will cut social services, funds for education, layoff government workers, devalue the currency, thus raising the prices of imports which include Russian gas, thus electricity, and open Ukrainian assets to takeover by Western corporations.Ukraine’s agriculture lands will pass into the hands of American agribusiness.One part of the Washington/EU plan for Ukraine, or that part of Ukraine that doesn’t defect to Russia, has succeeded. What remains of the country will be thoroughly looted by the West.The other part hasn’t worked as well. Washington’s Ukrainian stooges lost control of the protests to organized and armed ultra-nationalists. These groups, whose roots go back to those who fought for Hitler during World War 2, engaged in words and deeds that sent southern and eastern Ukraine clamoring to be returned to Russia where they resided prior to the 1950s when the Soviet communist party stuck them into Ukraine.At this time of writing it looks like Crimea has seceded from Ukraine. Washington and its NATO puppets can do nothing but bluster and threaten sanctions. The White House Fool has demonstrated the impotence of the “US sole superpower” by issuing sanctions against unknown persons, whoever they are, responsible for returning Crimea to Russia, where it existed for about 200 years before, according to Solzhenitsyn, a drunk Khrushchev of Ukrainian ethnicity moved southern and eastern Russian provinces into Ukraine. Having observed the events in western Ukraine, those Russian provinces want to go back home where they belong, just as South Ossetia wanted nothing to do with Georgia.Washington’s stooges in Kiev can do nothing about Crimea except bluster. Under the Russian-Ukraine agreement, Russia is permitted 25,000 troops in Crimea. The US/EU media’s deploring of a “Russian invasion of 16,000 troops” is either total ignorance or complicity in Washington’s lies. Obviously, the US/EU media is corrupt. Only a fool would rely on their reports. Any media that would believe anything Washington says after George W. Bush and Dick Cheney sent Secretary of State Colin Powell to the UN to peddle the regime’s lies about “Iraqi weapons of mass destruction,” which the weapons inspectors had told the White House did not exist, is clearly a collection of bought-and-paid for whores.In the former Russian provinces of eastern Ukraine, Putin’s low-key approach to the strategic threat that Washington has brought to Russia has given Washington a chance to hold on to a major industrial complex that serves the Russian economy and military. The people themselves in eastern Ukraine are in the streets demanding separation from the unelected government that Washington’s coup has imposed in Kiev. Washington, realizing that its incompetence has lost Crimea, had its Kiev stooges appoint Ukrainian oligarchs, against whom the Maiden protests were partly directed, to governing positions in eastern Ukraine cities. These oligarchs have their own private militias in addition to the police and any Ukrainian military units that are still functioning. The leaders of the protesting Russians are being arrested and disappeared. Washington and its EU puppets, who proclaim their support for self-determination, are only for self-determination when it can be orchestrated in their favor. Therefore, Washington is busy at work suppressing self-determination in eastern Ukraine.This is a dilemma for Putin. His low-key approach has allowed Washington to seize the initiative in eastern Ukraine. The oligarchs Taruta and Kolomoyskiy have been put in power in Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk, and are carrying out arrests of Russians and committing unspeakable crimes, but you will never hear of it from the US presstitutes. Washington’s strategy is to arrest and deep-six the leaders of the secessionists so that there no authorities to request Putin’s intervention.If Putin has drones, he has the option of taking out Taruta and Kolomoyskiy. If Putin lets Washington retain the Russian provinces of eastern Ukraine, he will have demonstrated a weakness that Washington will exploit. Washington will exploit the weakness to the point that Washington forces Putin to war.The war will be nuclear.

This psycho can't expend American lives quick enough.Daniel McAdamsIf the US/EU backed overthrow of the Ukrainian government last month had a face, that face would be Sen. John McCain (R-AZ). McCain is the "Energizer Bunny" of US interventionism: wherever there is a government to subvert, a regime to change, chaos to foment, there you will find McCain in its midst.He snuck into Syria to highlight the dominance of moderates that the US should support. But the world is now interconnected and soon it was known that McCain's moderates in Syria were in fact radicals and kidnappers. He snuck into Libya to receive an award from the military the same day Sharia law was approved.But these are small potatoes. Russia has always been the prize for McCain. His International Republican Institute (IRI), a Cold War relic funded by US taxpayers, routinely funded subversive NGOs in Russia to undermine the political system.From the early days of the protests in Ukraine, McCain was there, in Maidan square, meeting with and encouraging those whose intent was a violent overthrow of a democratically elected government. The ends justifies the means, and McCain supped with a number of unsavory characters to supercharge his plans.Now that the US-sponsored regime change is complete in Ukraine, McCain has his biggest thrill: unlike the small and weak other countries that his IRI had picked on, Russia has not rolled over.A nuclear armed Russia facing off with a nuclear armed US would lead most normal people to search for alternatives to possible total annihilation. Not McCain. He wants a military option.Asked by MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell about options for a US attack on Russia, McCain said, "I'd love to tell you that there is Andrea, but frankly I do not see it. I wish that there were. … I do not see a military option and it's tragic."These are America's leaders in perhaps the most dangerous period in a half century. Do you feel safe?

PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA VLADIMIR PUTIN: Federation Council members, State Duma deputies, good afternoon.* Representatives of the Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol are here among us, citizens of Russia, residents of Crimea and Sevastopol!Dear friends, we have gathered here today in connection with an issue that is of vital, historic significance to all of us. A referendum was held in Crimea on March 16 in full compliance with democratic procedures and international norms.More than 82 percent of the electorate took part in the vote. Over 96 percent of them spoke out in favour of reuniting with Russia. These numbers speak for themselves.To understand the reason behind such a choice it is enough to know the history of Crimea and what Russia and Crimea have always meant for each other.

Everything in Crimea speaks of our shared history and pride. This is the location of ancient Khersones, where Prince Vladimir was baptised. His spiritual feat of adopting Orthodoxy predetermined the overall basis of the culture, civilisation and human values that unite the peoples of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. The graves of Russian soldiers whose bravery brought Crimea into the Russian empire are also in Crimea. This is also Sevastopol - a legendary city with an outstanding history, a fortress that serves as the birthplace of Russia's Black Sea Fleet. Crimea is Balaklava and Kerch, Malakhov Kurgan and Sapun Ridge. Each one of these places is dear to our hearts, symbolising Russian military glory and outstanding valour.Crimea is a unique blend of different peoples' cultures and traditions. This makes it similar to Russia as a whole, where not a single ethnic group has been lost over the centuries. Russians and Ukrainians, Crimean Tatars and people of other ethnic groups have lived side by side in Crimea, retaining their own identity, traditions, languages and faith.

Incidentally, the total population of the Crimean Peninsula today is 2.2 million people, of whom almost 1.5 million are Russians, 350,000 are Ukrainians who predominantly consider Russian their native language, and about 290,000-300,000 are Crimean Tatars, who, as the referendum has shown, also lean towards Russia.True, there was a time when Crimean Tatars were treated unfairly, just as a number of other peoples in the USSR. There is only one thing I can say here: millions of people of various ethnicities suffered during those repressions, and primarily Russians.Crimean Tatars returned to their homeland. I believe we should make all the necessary political and legislative decisions to finalise the rehabilitation of Crimean Tatars, restore them in their rights and clear their good name.

We have great respect for people of all the ethnic groups living in Crimea. This is their common home, their motherland, and it would be right - I know the local population supports this - for Crimea to have three equal national languages: Russian, Ukrainian and Tatar.Colleagues,In people's hearts and minds, Crimea has always been an inseparable part of Russia. This firm conviction is based on truth and justice and was passed from generation to generation, over time, under any circumstances, despite all the dramatic changes our country went through during the entire 20th*century.After the revolution, the Bolsheviks, for a number of reasons - may God judge them - added large sections of the historical South of Russia to the Republic of Ukraine. This was done with no consideration for the ethnic make-up of the population, and today these areas form the southeast of Ukraine. Then, in 1954, a decision was made to transfer Crimean Region to Ukraine, along with Sevastopol, despite the fact that it was a city of union subordination. This was the personal initiative of the Communist Party head Nikita Khrushchev. What stood behind this decision of his - a desire to*win*the support of the Ukrainian political establishment or to atone for the mass repressions of the 1930's in Ukraine - is for historians to figure out.What matters now is that this decision was made in clear violation of the constitutional norms that were in place even then. The decision was made behind the scenes. Naturally, in a totalitarian state nobody bothered to ask the citizens of Crimea and Sevastopol. They were faced with the fact. People, of course, wondered why all of a sudden Crimea became part of Ukraine. But on the whole - and we must state this clearly, we all know it - this decision was treated as a formality of sorts because the territory was transferred within the boundaries of a single state. Back then, it was impossible to imagine that Ukraine and Russia may split up and become two separate states. However, this has happened.Unfortunately, what seemed impossible became a reality. The USSR fell apart. Things developed so swiftly that few people realised how truly dramatic those events and their consequences would be. Many people both in Russia and in Ukraine, as well as in other republics hoped that the Commonwealth of Independent States that was created at the time would become the new common form of statehood. They were told that there would be a single currency, a single economic space, joint armed forces; however, all this remained empty promises, while the big country was gone. It was only when Crimea ended up as part of a different country that Russia realised that it was not simply robbed, it was plundered.At the same time, we have to admit that by launching the sovereignty parade Russia itself aided in the collapse of the Soviet Union. And as this collapse was legalised, everyone forgot about Crimea and Sevastopol *- the main base of the Black Sea Fleet. Millions of people went to bed in one country and awoke in different ones, overnight becoming ethnic minorities in former Union republics, while the Russian nation became one of the biggest, if not the biggest ethnic group in the world to be divided by borders.Now, many years later, I heard residents of Crimea say that back in 1991 they were handed over like a sack of potatoes. This is hard to disagree with. And what about the Russian state? What about Russia? It humbly accepted the situation. This country was going through such hard times then that realistically it was incapable of protecting its interests. However, the people could not reconcile themselves to this outrageous historical injustice. All these years, citizens and many public figures came back to this issue, saying that Crimea is historically Russian land and Sevastopol is a Russian city. Yes, we all knew this in our hearts and minds, but we had to proceed from the existing reality and build our good-neighbourly relations with independent Ukraine on a new basis. Meanwhile, our relations with Ukraine, with the fraternal Ukrainian people have always been and will remain of foremost importance for us.*(Applause)

Today we can speak about it openly, and I would like to share with you some details of the negotiations that took place in the early 2000s. The then President of Ukraine Mr Kuchma asked me to expedite the process of delimiting the Russian-Ukrainian border. At that time, the process was practically at a standstill.* Russia seemed to have recognised Crimea as part of Ukraine, but there were no negotiations on delimiting the borders. Despite the complexity of the situation, I immediately issued instructions to Russian government agencies to speed up their work to document the borders, so that everyone had a clear understanding that by agreeing to delimit the border we admitted de facto and de jure that Crimea was Ukrainian territory, thereby closing the issue.We accommodated Ukraine not only regarding Crimea, but also on such a complicated matter as the maritime boundary in the Sea of Azov and the Kerch Strait. What we proceeded from back then was that good relations with Ukraine matter most for us and they should not fall hostage to deadlock territorial disputes. However, we expected Ukraine to remain our good neighbour, we hoped that Russian citizens and Russian speakers in Ukraine, especially its southeast and Crimea, would live in a friendly, democratic and civilised state that would protect their rights in line with the norms of international law.

However, this is not how the situation developed. Time and time again attempts were made to deprive Russians of their historical memory, even of their language and to subject them to forced assimilation. Moreover, Russians, just as other citizens of Ukraine are suffering from the constant political and state crisis that has been rocking the country for over 20 years.I understand why Ukrainian people wanted change. They have had enough of the authorities in power during the years of Ukraine's independence. Presidents, prime ministers and parliamentarians changed, but their attitude to the country and its people remained the same. They milked the country, fought among themselves for power, assets and cash flows and did not care much about the ordinary people. They did not wonder why it was that millions of Ukrainian citizens saw no prospects at home and went to other countries to work as day labourers. I would like to stress this: it was not some Silicon Valley they fled to, but to become day labourers. Last year alone almost 3 million people found such*jobs*in Russia. According to some sources, in 2013 their earnings in Russia totalled over $20 billion, which is about 12% of Ukraine's GDP.I would like to reiterate that I understand those who came out on Maidan with peaceful slogans against corruption, inefficient state management and poverty. The right to peaceful protest, democratic procedures and elections exist for the sole purpose of replacing the authorities that do not satisfy the people. However, those who stood behind the latest events in Ukraine had a different agenda: they were preparing yet another government takeover; they wanted to seize power and would stop short of nothing. They resorted to terror, murder and riots. Nationalists, neo-Nazis, Russophobes and anti-Semites executed this coup. They continue to set the tone in Ukraine to this day.

The new so-called authorities began by introducing a draft law to revise the language policy, which was a direct infringement on the rights of ethnic minorities. However, they were immediately 'disciplined' by the foreign sponsors of these so-called politicians. One has to admit that the mentors of these current authorities are smart and know well what such attempts to build a purely Ukrainian state may lead to. The draft law was set aside, but clearly reserved for the future. Hardly any mention is made of this attempt now, probably on the presumption that people have a short memory. Nevertheless, we can all clearly see the intentions of these ideological heirs of Bandera, Hitler's accomplice during World War II.It is also obvious that there is no legitimate executive authority in Ukraine now, nobody to talk to. Many government agencies have been taken over by the impostors, but they do not have any control in the country, while they themselves - and I would like to stress this - are often controlled by radicals. In some cases, you need a special permit from the militants on Maidan to meet with certain ministers of the current government. This is not a joke - this is reality.Those who opposed the coup were immediately threatened with repression. Naturally, the first in line here was Crimea, the Russian-speaking Crimea. In view of this, the residents of Crimea and Sevastopol turned to Russia for help in defending their rights and lives, in preventing the events that were unfolding and are still underway in Kiev, Donetsk, Kharkov and other Ukrainian cities.Naturally, we could not leave this plea unheeded; we could not abandon Crimea and its residents in distress. This would have been betrayal on our part.First, we had to help create conditions so that the residents of Crimea for the first time in history were able to peacefully express their*free*will regarding their own future. However, what do we hear from our colleagues in Western Europe and North America? They say we are violating norms of international law.* Firstly, it's a good thing that they at least remember that there exists such a thing as international law - better late than never.

Secondly, and most importantly - what exactly are we violating? True, the President of the Russian Federation received permission from the Upper House of Parliament to use the Armed Forces in Ukraine.* However, strictly speaking, nobody has acted on this permission yet.* Russia's Armed Forces never entered Crimea; they were there already in line with an international agreement.* True, we did enhance our forces there; however - this is something I would like everyone to hear and know - we did not exceed the personnel limit of our Armed Forces in Crimea, which is set at 25,000, because there was no need to do so.Next. As it declared independence and decided to hold a referendum, the Supreme Council of Crimea referred to the United Nations Charter, which speaks of the right of nations to self-determination. Incidentally, I would like to remind you that when Ukraine seceded from the USSR it did exactly the same thing, almost word for word. Ukraine used this right, yet the residents of Crimea are denied it.* Why is that?Moreover, the Crimean authorities referred to the well-known Kosovo precedent - a precedent our western colleagues created with their own hands in a very similar situation, when they agreed that the unilateral separation of Kosovo from Serbia, exactly what Crimea is doing now, was legitimate and did not require any permission from the country's central authorities. Pursuant to Article 2, Chapter 1 of the United Nations Charter, the UN International Court agreed with this approach and made the following comment in its ruling of July 22, 2010, and I quote: "No general prohibition may be inferred from the practice of the Security Council with regard to declarations of independence," and "General international law contains no prohibition on declarations of independence." Crystal clear, as they say.I do not like to resort to quotes, but in this case, I cannot help it. Here is a quote from another official document: the Written Statement of the United States America of April 17, 2009, submitted to the same UN International Court in connection with the hearings on Kosovo. Again, I quote: "Declarations of independence may, and often do, violate domestic legislation. However, this does not make them violations of international law." End of quote.* They wrote this, disseminated it all over the world, had everyone agree and now they are outraged. Over what? The actions of Crimean people completely fit in with these instructions, as it were. For some reason, things that Kosovo Albanians (and we have full respect for them) were permitted to do, Russians, Ukrainians and Crimean Tatars in Crimea are not allowed. Again, one wonders why.

We keep hearing from the United States and Western Europe that Kosovo is some special case. What makes it so special in the eyes of our colleagues? It turns out that it is the fact that the conflict in Kosovo resulted in so many human casualties.* Is this a legal argument? The ruling of the International Court says nothing about this. This is not even double standards; this is amazing, primitive, blunt cynicism. One should not try so crudely to make everything suit their interests, calling the same thing white today and black tomorrow. According to this logic, we have to make sure every conflict leads to human losses.I will state clearly - if the Crimean local self-defence units had not taken the situation under control, there could have been casualties as well. Fortunately this did not happen. There was not a single armed confrontation in Crimea and no casualties. Why do you think this was so? The answer is simple: because it is very difficult, practically impossible to fight against the will of the people. Here I would like to thank the Ukrainian military - and this is 22,000 fully armed servicemen. I would like to thank those Ukrainian service members who refrained from bloodshed and did not smear their uniforms in blood.Other thoughts come to mind in this connection. They keep talking of some Russian intervention in Crimea, some sort of aggression. This is strange to hear. I cannot recall a single case in history of an intervention without a single shot being fired and with no human casualties.To be continued.http://eng.kremlin.ru/news/6889

Crimea’s secession from Ukraine was just like Kosovo’s secession from Serbia, and any arguments otherwise are just attempts to bend the West-advocated rules that were applied to the Kosovo case, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.The statements came as Putin was addressing the Russian parliament to convince lawmakers to ratify a treaty, which would make Crimea part of the Russian Federation.In the speech he challenged Washington’s position, which says that Kosovo was a unique case and could not justify any other move towards independence in the world.“Our western partners created the Kosovo precedent with their own hands. In a situation absolutely the same as the one in Crimea they recognized Kosovo’s secession from Serbia legitimate while arguing that no permission from a country’s central authority for a unilateral declaration of independence is necessary,”*Putin reminded, adding that the UN International Court of Justice agreed to those arguments.“That’s what they wrote, that what they trumpeted all over the world, coerced everyone into it – and now they are complaining. Why is that?”he asked.

Putin dismissed the argument that Kosovo was unique due to the large number of victims during the Balkan wars and the dissolution of Yugoslavia.“It’s beyond double standards,”Putin said.*“It’s a kind of baffling, primitive and blatant cynicism. One can’t just twist things to fit his interests, to call something white on one day and black on the next one.”The president dismissed the allegations that Russia is violating international law with its actions in Ukraine.“Well’ it’s good that they at least recalled that there is international law. Thank you very much. Better late than never,”*Putin said adding that in fact nothing of this kind happened.

‘In Ukraine the West crossed the red line’

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In fact, it was Russia that defended international law and its institutions, while western countries have been diminishing them. The situation in Crimea is just a reflection of this broader process, which has been happening for decades now.“In the practical application of policies, our western partners – the United States first and foremost – prefer to be guided not by international law, but by the right of strength. They believe in their exceptionalism, that they are allowed to decide on the fate of the world, that they are always right,”Putin charged.This disregard to rule of law was evident in Yugoslavia in 1999, when NATO bombed the country without a UN Security Council mandate, the Russian president said. There was Afghanistan, Iraq and the perversion of the UNSC resolution on Libya, when instead of imposing a no-fly zone NATO bombed the country into submission.There were also orchestrated “colored revolutions” in Europe and the Arab World, which cynically used the feelings of people tired with corruption and poverty. The latest Ukrainian events are just the latest of such actions, and Russia’s willingness to seek dialogue and compromise was stonewalled again, Putin said.

“They were cheating us once more, took decisions behind our back, presented us with a fait accompli,”he said, adding that the patter is identical to that which accompanied NATO’s expansion to the east, the deployment of an anti-ballistic missile system, visa restrictions and numerous other issues.“They are constantly trying to corner us in retaliation for our having an independent position, for defending it, for calling things by their names and not being hypocritical,”*Putin accused.“Everything has its limits, and in Ukraine our western partners crossed the red line. They acted brutally, irresponsibly and unprofessionally.”Putin said the West must stop being hysterical, restrain from the Cold War rhetoric and admit the obvious:“Russia is an independent and active participant of international relations. Just like any nation it has national interests that must be taken into consideration and respected.”As for the Ukrainian red line, the coup-imposed authorities in Kiev voiced their desire to join NATO, and such a move would pose an imminent threat to Russia, Putin said.“We stand against having a military organization meddling in our backyard, next to our homeland or in the territories that are historically ours. I just cannot imagine visiting NATO sailors in Sevastopol,”*he stressed.*“Most of them are fine lads, by the way. But rather let them visit us in Sevastopol than the other way around.”At the end of his speech, Putinannounced*the submission to parliament of a draft federal law which would incorporate Crimea and the City of Sevastopol into Russian territory, as well as a request to ratify an international treaty with the government of Crimea to make this happen. He said he was sure of the legislature’s support for both documents.
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Wasting no time and showing no sign that he's concerned about Western objections or economic sanctions, Russian President Vladimir Putin annexed Crimea on Tuesday.Making the case that Russia is responding to the will of the Crimean people, Putin argued that it is the U.S. and its Western allies who seek to rule by the will of "the gun." His military forces in Crimea, Putin argued, are there only to create "peaceful conditions" as that region's ethnic-Russian majority exercises its right to self-determination.As NPR's Michele Kelemen notes, Putin said cities in Crimea are sacred to many Russians and are symbols of his nation's past military glory. When the Soviet Union collapsed, he said, millions of Russians went to bed as citizens of one country and ended up in another. Those included many ethnic Russians in Crimea.President Obama and leaders from the European Union vehemently disagree with Putin. They say Russia has violated international law by interfering in Ukraine's affairs. In response, the U.S. and EU have slapped economic and travel sanctions on some Russian officials.After Putin's address, the White House announced that Obama will meet with other leaders next week in the Netherlands to discuss the next steps they'll take. British Prime Minister David Cameron said Tuesday that "Russia will face more serious consequences and I will push European leaders to agree further EU measures." (Update at 11 a.m. ET.)

We began this post just before 7 a.m. ET with word that Putin had "notified Russia's parliament of his intention to make Crimea a part of the Russian Federation, defying the United States and Europe just hours after they imposed their first financial sanctions against Moscow since the crisis in Ukraine began," The New York Times writes.Then we monitored the news from Putin's speech and updated with highlights.

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Kremlin says Crimea is now officially part of Russia after treaty signing, Putin speech

MOSCOW — Invoking the suffering of the Russian people and a narrative of constant betrayals by the West, President Vladimir Putin declared Tuesday that Russia was within its rights to reclaim Crimea, then signed a treaty that did just that.Putin, defiant in the face of U.S. and European pressure, dispensed with legal deliberation and announced a swift annexation of Crimea, as if to put Europe’s most serious crisis in decades beyond the point where the results could be turned back.In a speech to a joint session of the Russian parliament, he compared the move to the independence declaration of Kosovo in 2008 and the reunification of Germany in 1990 — but, in reality, this is the first time that one European nation has seized territory from another since the end of World War II.

The Obama administration hit 11 Russian and Ukrainian officials with sanctions today as punishment for Russia's support of Crimea's referendum. Among them: aides to President Vladimir Putin, a top government official, senior lawmakers, Crimean officials, the ousted president of Ukraine, and a Ukrainian politician and businessman allegedly tied to violence against protesters in Kiev.It remains to be seen whether the sanctions will dissuade Russia from annexing Crimea, but one an early clue that they will not be effective came just hours later when President Putin signed a decree recognizing Crimea as an independent state, perhaps an early step towards annexation.U.S. official have warned of additional sanctions for Russian action, hoping it will deter Russia from any further aggression towards Ukraine, but it didn't appear to upset the often outspoke Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin.

Rogozin, a friend of actor Steven Seagal, took to Twitter to tweak Obama, tweeting he thinks "some prankster" came up with the sanctions listIn a later tweet addressed to "Comrade @BarackObama," he asked, "what should do those who have neither accounts nor property abroad? Or U didn't think about it?"Another Russian on the sanctions list, Vladislav Surkov, also seemed unconcerned.Surkov, a top Putin ideologue often called the Kremlin's grey cardinal, reportedly told a Russian newspaper, "It's a big honor for me. I don't have accounts abroad. The only things that interest me in the U.S. are Tupac Shakur, Allen Ginsberg, and Jackson Pollock. I don't need a visa to access their work. I lose nothing."Here's who gets hit with the sanctions:U.S. officials said that, among the sanctioned individuals were the "key ideologists and architects" of Russia's Ukraine policy, while adding that some of the Russian officials were included in the list for their role in curbing "human rights and liberties" in Russia.The sanctions freeze any assets under American jurisdiction and prevent American banks from doing business with the named individual, essentially freezing them out of the international banking system. The sanctions also impose a ban on their travel to the United States. Separately, but in coordination with the White House, the European Union announced sanctions today on 21 individuals that it plans to name later. U.S. officials told reporters that the American and European lists "overlapped" in some area, but declined to say how.While some of the sanctioned officials are bold faced names, the White House move is unlikely to affect Russia's decision making with regard to Crimea's bid to join the Russian Federation. Russia's stock market actually improved on the news that so few officials were included on the list. U.S. officials warned that, if Russia does go ahead with annexation of Crimea, additional penalties will follow, with more, harsher measures to come if Russia attempts to enter eastern Ukraine.

Kremlin aidesVladislav Surkov*- An aide to President Vladimir Putin, he was once considered one of Russia's most powerful men. He has been called the Kremlin's "gray cardinal" for his role as a power broker behind the scenes. He's also credited the architect of Russia's political system, with power concentrated in the presidency. In the past he was credited with shaping the ideology of the ruling United Russia party. He has also written rock music lyrics and is rumored to have authored a book.

Sergei Glazyev*- An economic aide to Putin who oversaw relations with Ukraine. He frequently blasted the protest movement in Kiev and was outspoken in his criticism of American and European support for the protests.

Top government officialDmitry Rogozin*- An outspoken, hawkish Deputy Prime Minister, he's known to have a close friendship with Hollywood actor Steven Seagal. As a member of Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev's government, Rogozin is responsible for the armed forces and arms industry.

Russian lawmakers Elena Mizulina*- A senior lawmaker, she is considered one of the Kremlin's morality enforcers in the parliament. She is perhaps best known as the co-author of last year's homosexual "propaganda" law which sparked outrage overseas. She also proposed a measure to give Ukrainians Russian passports.

Leonid Slutsky*- A lawmaker in the lower house of Parliament. He is the chair of the Committee on CIS Affairs, Eurasian Integration, and Relations with Compatriots. He was one of the Russian observers attending Sunday's referendum in Crimea.

Andrei Klishas*- A member of the upper house of Parliament, the Federation Council, who proposed retaliatory action in case of Western sanctions on Russia. He is chairman of the Federation Council Committee of Constitutional Law, Judicial, and Legal Affairs, and the Development of Civil Society.

Valentina Matviyenko*- The head of the Federation Council, she is the most senior lawmaker on the sanctions list.

Crimean officials

Sergey Aksyonov*- Once an obscure pro-Russian politician in Crimea, he has now been declared the prime minister.
Vladimir Konstantinov*- The newly declared speaker of Crimea's parliament.
Ukrainian officialsViktor Medvedchuk*- A pro-Russian politician, he is being sanctioned for having "materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support" to impeached President Viktor Yanukovich. Ukraine's opposition has accused him of orchestrating or aiding a crackdown on protesters and opposition.
Viktor Yanukovich*- The ousted president of Ukraine. He was elected in 2010 but was chased from office by protests last month.

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Putin says U.S. guided by "the rule of the gun" in foreign policy

MOSCOW, MARCH 18*|*Tue Mar 18, 2014 7:42am EDT

MOSCOW, March 18 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin accused the United States on Monday of being guided in its foreign policy not by international law but by the "rule of the gun.""Our Western partners headed by the United States prefer not to be guided by international law in their practical policies, but by the rule of the gun," he told a joint session of parliament."They have come to believe in their exceptionalism and their sense of being the chosen ones. That they can decide the destinies of the world, that it is only them who can be right."

Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him,

And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal:”—

Ezekiel 38:1-3

Finally, there is a prophetic book revealing the mystery of Bible prophecy in regard to Gog and Magog. Its title is*The Matrix of Gog, and*Power of Prophecy, through our imprint, RiverCrest Publishing, is proud to be publisher.

For hundreds of years this great mystery of mysteries, the identification of Gog, from Magog, has been kept from Bible students. Who is this “Gog,” the great and wicked prince destined to plunge humanity into a horrible, last days battle of Armagedddon?

And where will this Gog come from? That is, which nation or country does the Bible refer to when it warns of “Magog?”

Gog Shall Expand to Rule the World

We know from the Bible (Ezekiel 38*and*39) that Gog will start with a small group of people. From that small nucleus, he will build up and strengthen Magog until, finally, he and Magog are able to conquer the entire world.

Gog will first hasten to invade the*“land of unwalled villages.”*Then, emboldened, according to the prophecies of Daniel, he will use “craft” (witchcraft) and “dark sentences” (lies) to deceive more and more countries and lands. His empire will eventually encompass the globe.

Gog will possess a human being—the Antichrist—who will require all to take either a mark, or his name, or the number of his name (666) in their forehead or hand.

Gog, of Magog, will cause all the earth, except faithful Christians, to worship the Beast and his image. He will*“make war against the saints” (Revelation 13)*and overcome them. But in the end, the fury of God will burst forth. Heaven’s doors shall be opened, and Gog and his supposedly invincible army will be destroyed by a blast of fire and light.

Prophecy experts and theologians have long wondered about Gog and Magog. Some believed “Magog” was Russia. The monstrous communists under Lenin and Stalin gave this speculation increased authority. Of course, communism collapsed in the 1980s, but today we have the restoration of an imperial Russia under Vladimir Putin. Could Putin be “Gog?”

The answer is,*no!*Putin is not Gog, and Russia is not Magog. The author of*The Matrix of Gog, Daniel Patrick, tells us exactly who Gog and Magog are. He correctly uses history, geography, and ethnicity.You will be shocked to discover what he has found out.

Gog Spreads its Tentacles to Encompass the Mighty U.S.A.

Gog is a demon. He will inhabit the body of the leader of the superpower that will rule the world in the last days. That would be the United States of America. The U.S. is incomparable in its power and authority. Only a handful of rogue nations now withstand the United States. Its military is stationed abroad in over 150 nations, and its Navy and Air Force encircle the globe. NSA and the CIA, its spying apparatus, keeps its all-seeing eye watching every nation and keeping track of virtually every human being.

Gog’s United States is also the protector and defender of Israel, the Khazar Jew State in the Middle East. Gog, in turn, cooperates fully with the billionaire Khazar Jews—the Rothschilds, Bronfmans,*et al—who run Israel. These wicked rulers control the United States. They rule over its government, its economy, and its media and entertainment spheres.

Gog, puppeteer for the United States, insures that its puppet nation does whatever the Khazars in America and Israel want. Thus, the U.S. first founded Israel as a nation in 1948. It enabled the conquest of Palestine,*“the land of unwalled villages,”*beginning that year and went on to boost a “Greater Israel” by invading and conquering the Middle East. One nation after another—Yemen, Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan, has fallen. The U.S. also worked to destabilize others, including Egypt, Iran, and Pakistan.

The U.S.A. and Israel are joined at the hip. The neocon Jews in the U.S. are its hidden rulers. All are Khazars, and they work hand-in-glove with Israel’s Khazar Jews. As former Prime Minister Mayatir of Malaysia remarked,*“The United States is Israel’s proxy.”

Khazaria, Home of the “Jews”

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So Gog is head of both the United States and Israel. His people are the Khazar Jews, also known as “Ashkenazi Jews.” The Khazars are Jews who originally came from Khazaria, a country in the Caucasus, south of Russia. As I explain in my revealing book,*DNA Science and the Jewish Bloodline, the Khazars are a European people who converted from paganism to Judaism beginning in the eighth century.

By the tenth century, Khazaria was conquered by the Russian czars. Many defeated Khazars fled west to Poland and surrounding nations. There they thrived in separated Jewish communities until, finally, following World War II, these Jews took over Poland and eastern Europe. They were communists, affiliated with Stalin and Russia.

In 1948, these communist Jews saw their opportunity in Palestine, and they left Poland and other countries where they resided and headed to Palestine,*“the land of unwalled villages.”

Yes, Gog and his people, the Khazar Jews, with U.S. support, descended in hordes on Palestine. They had come to conquer and possess, as the Bible says,*“to take a prey and a spoil.”

Now get this: Khazaria, as I explained in my book, had historically been called*“Magog,”*and its king or ruler was known as*“Gog.”*Arthur Koestler, the noted author, in his*The Thirteenth Tribe, told us of these amazing facts.

The Khazars are, in truth, from Magog, and their “King” is Gog. Further, we now know from DNA scientific research that the Khazars became the “Jews” of today. In other words, the Khazars, having no blood relationship to Abraham or his descendants, are not really Jews. They are turks and mongols who converted to Judaism in the eighth century and identified themselves from that point on as “Jews.”

Gog, From Magog, Demon King of Khazaria and Its “Jews”

In*The Matrix of Gog, author Daniel Patrick explains all this and much more. You will read of Gog, from the land of Magog, and see the historical and biblical evidence that this refers to the monarch who once led Khazaria, the land called Magog.

The Khazar people, who lie and call themselves “Jews,” are actually the Synagogue of Satan (Revelation 2:9*and*3:9). With the hellish oversight and support of Gog, they now control the U.S. A. and Israel and are vying for the whole world. That is their ultimate goal—the New World Order—and they are on the very brink of achieving it.

The inhabitants of this planet must be awakened to the danger these satanically led Khazars from the land of Magog present. The New World Order will move to take away all rights and liberties. Millions will be led away in captivity. Concentration camps and gulags will be filled to capacity. Penalty for dissent will be beheading. Freedom lovers beware!

Christians who wake up will wage war against Gog*(Revelation 13), but will, for a time, be overthrown. They will no doubt huddle together, across the globe, sharing a horrible existence under the cruel Gog and his evil band of thugs and miscreants. Only then, when the*“camp of saints,”*the universal Church, is encompassed round by these Khazarian devils, will relief come*(Revelation 20).

SLOVYANSK, Ukraine —*Two Ukrainian helicopters were shot down Friday as Ukraine launched its first major offensive against the pro-Russia forces that have seized government buildings in the east. The Kremlin said Kiev's move against the insurgents "destroyed" hopes for peace in the region.

Fighting broke out around dawn near Slovyansk, a city 160 kilometers (100 miles) from the Russian border that has become the focus of the armed insurgency against Ukraine's interim government.

Two helicopter crew were killed in the crashes, both sides said, and a pro-Russia militiaman was reported killed.

One of the helicopters was hit by a surface-to-air missile, the Ukrainian Security Service said, adding that the sophisticated weapon undercut Russia's claims the city was simply under the control of armed locals. The agency said its forces were fighting "highly skilled foreign military men" in Slovyansk.Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesman said the offensive "effectively destroyed the last hope for the implementation of the Geneva agreements" that aimed to defuse the crisis. A day earlier Putin warned Ukraine not to move against the insurgents and said it should withdraw its military from eastern and southern regions.

Ukraine, a nation of 46 million, is deeply divided between those in the west who favor closer ties with Europe and many Russian-speakers in the east who look toward Moscow.

Ukraine has accused Russia of backing the insurgents who have seized government buildings in 10 eastern cities and fears that Moscow is seeking a pretext to invade; Russia has already stationed tens of thousands of troops in areas near the Ukrainian border.

Russian troops backed separatists in Ukraine's Black Sea peninsula of Crimea in March, then annexed the region after a referendum called for secession.A deal in Geneva last month aimed to get those who had seized government buildings in Ukraine to leave and calm down the tensions that have prompted the United States and the European Union to slap Russia with sanctions for its actions in Ukraine.

Ukraine's acting president Oleksandr Turchynov admitted earlier this week that the central government had lost control of the east, and said some government troops and police there were "either helping or cooperating with terrorist organizations." He said efforts should be focused on preventing the instability from spreading to other parts of the country.

Russia's foreign ministry on Friday accused Ukraine's fledging government of using "terrorists" from ultranationalist organizations for the military operation. It also claimed that Kiev deployed tanks and helicopters that were "conducting missile strikes on protesters," something that neither side in Ukraine reported. An Associated Press crew also saw no evidence of missile strikes in Slovyansk

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The foreign ministry also cited insurgents in Ukraine as saying that some of the government attackers spoke English.

Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the Kremlin had sent envoy Vladimir Lukin to Ukraine's southeast to negotiate the release of seven foreign military observers who were being held hostage by pro-Russia militia in Slovyansk.

Ukrainian troops met fierce resistance Friday but managed to take control of nine checkpoints on the roads around Slovyansk, Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said in a statement. He called on the insurgents to lay down the arms and release the hostages they have taken.

By afternoon, Ukrainian Security Service said half of Slovyansk was already under control of the Ukrainian army — a claim that could not be immediately verified.

"We are ready to negotiate with protesters and their representatives," Avakov said. "But for terrorists and armed separatists there is only punishment."

The city center appeared quiet but empty and tense Friday morning. On the road leading into Slovyansk from the south, an Associated Press reporter saw six parked Ukrainian armored vehicles Friday morning and an AP cameraman saw black plumes of smoke on the edge of the city, where an emergency siren had sounded at dawn.

The spokesman for the military wing of the pro-Russia forces, who would give only his first name, Vladislav, said fighting had broken out at several points around the city. He claimed that Ukrainian troops had made incursions into the city itself.

That claim could not be independently confirmed.Hours after Putin said Thursday that Ukraine pull back its military from eastern and southern regions, Turchynov ordered that the military draft be renewed, citing "threats of encroachment on the nation's territorial integrity" and interference by Russia in its internal affairs.

Kiev's interim government came to power after President Viktor Yanukovych fled to Russia in February, drummed out by months of anti-government protests. Ukraine plans to hold a new presidential election on May 25.

——Nataliya Vasilyeva in Moscow and Maria Danilova in Kiev contributed to this report.

The European and American public are being systematically lied to about the Ukraine crisis.

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The Ukraine Crisis - What You're Not Being Told

12.Mar.2014*|*SCG *In this video we're going to provide you with compelling evidence that the crimes against humanity committed in Kiev earlier this year were in fact committed by the new coalition government and that officials in the E.U. and the United States knew full well who committed these crimes and that they are protecting and financially supporting the real criminals.

Deputy White House National Security Adviser Tony Blinken pledged “news for Monday” on sanctions as the focus on the ground in Ukraine turned to a team of international observers seized by pro-Russian separatists. Among those that may be hit are Russia’s third-largest lender, OAO Gazprombank, development lender Vnesheconombank, and Igor Sechin, the chief executive officer of OAO Rosneft (ROSN), according to people familiar with developments. Sechin is a confidant of the Russian president.*

“We will be looking to designate people who are in his inner circle, who have a significant impact on the Russian economy,” Blinken said on CBS’s “Face the Nation” program today. “We’ll be looking to designate companies that they and other inner-circle people control. We’ll be looking at taking steps as well with regard to high-technology exports to their defense industry. All of this together is going to have an impact.

”Representatives of the 28 European Union nations will also meet tomorrow to widen a list of people subject to asset freezes and travel bans, an official from the bloc said yesterday. The sanctions will target 15 Russians in positions of power, another diplomat said. Both asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the matter.

*“What we will hear about in the coming days is an expansion of existing sanctions, measures against individuals or entities in Russia,” U.K. Foreign Secretary William Hague told Sky News television today. “Already we have seen more than $60 billion of capital flight out of Russia so far this year, and serious falls in the Russian stock market. So no one should underestimate the impact on Russia and Russia’s own interests of continued escalation of this crisis.

”In the wake of those capital outflows and a credit-rating downgrade by Standard & Poor’s, Russia’s central bank unexpectedly raised its key interest rate to 7.5 percent on April 25. The ruble has lost almost 9 percent this year against the dollar, the second-worst performance among 24 emerging currencies tracked by Bloomberg after Argentina’s peso.

Sechin may be among those facing travel bans and asset freezes tomorrow, according to a U.S. official familiar with the situation. Executives at Gazprombank are preparing for possible sanctions, two people with knowledge of the deliberations said last week, while Vnesheconombank is taking precautionary measures, according to a person familiar with talks at the lender.U.S. Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee, the top Republican on the Foreign Relations Committee, called on President Barack Obama’s administration to impose sanctions on four of Russia’s largest banks and OAO Gazprom (OGZD), the country’s gas-export monopoly.

“It’s going to be more effective if everybody signs on and everybody’s committed,” Obama told a news conference today in Putrajaya, Malaysia. “We’re going to be in a stronger position to deter Mr. Putin when he sees that the world is unified and the United States and Europe is unified, rather than this is just a U.S.-Russia conflict.”The planned EU moves are not set to include broader trade, financial and economic measures against Russia, known as “stage three” sanctions. Hague said work on those is continuing.

CNN) -*The United States expanded its sanctions against Russia on Monday, targeting members of President Vladimir Putin's "inner circle" and technology that could be useful to Russia's military.

President Barack Obama said the "targeted" sanctions are in response to Russia's actions in Ukraine."The United States has taken further action today in response to Russia's continued illegal intervention in Ukraine and provocative acts that undermine Ukraine's democracy and threaten its peace, security, stability, sovereignty, and territorial integrity," the White House said in a statement.

Since a meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, on April 17, Russia "has done nothing" to meet its commitments "and in fact has further escalated the crisis,"*the White House said in a statement.

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The Department of the Treasury is imposing sanctions on seven Russian government officials, including two members of President Putin's inner circle, who will be subject to an asset freeze and a U.S. visa ban, and 17 companies linked to Putin's inner circle, which will be subject to an asset freeze.

"In addition, the Department of Commerce has imposed additional restrictions on 13 of those companies by imposing a license requirement with a presumption of denial for the export, re-export or other foreign transfer of U.S.-origin items to the companies.

"Also, the departments of Commerce and State are tightening their "policy to deny export license applications for any high-technology items that could contribute to Russia's military capabilities. Those Departments also will revoke any existing export licenses that meet these conditions," the White House said.

"It will only intensify all the processes in Ukraine which it intends to change or stop," Ryabkov told CNN, speaking English. "It is yet another sign of a reckless behavior of the U.S. administration. No lessons are learned from the past. The U.S. does literally nothing to impress its cronies and clients in Kiev on whom there is full responsibility for constant deterioration of the situation in Ukraine. This is what needs to be changed and not the policy of Russia.

"A response of Moscow will follow, and it will be painfully felt in Washington D.C."

A senior Ukrainian government official called the new sanctions "a very good step, but we hope it's not the final step. Sector sanctions would be the really painful measure."

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The sanctioned include a Putin 'trusted ally'The seven officials named are:

--Oleg Belavantsev, Russia's envoy to Crimea.

-- Sergei Chemezov, who oversees Russia's high-tech sector as head of state-owned corporation Rostec and is "a trusted ally of Putin," according to the White House.

-- Dmitry Kozak, deputy prime minister.

-- Evgeniy Murov, director of Russia's Federal Protective Service.

-- Aleksei Pushkov, deputy of the State Duma.

-- Igor Sechin, president of Russia's leading petroleum company, Rosneft.

-- Vyacheslav Volodin, Putin's first deputy chief of staff, one of the advisers who encouraged Putin to move into Crimea, according to the White House.

Previously, deposed Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovichaccused*Brennan of ordering a crackdown on pro-Russian activists in the east of the country.

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The CIA had already dismissed these accusations as"completely false", but did not disclose whether its chief had actually been to Kiev - until now.

"We don't normally comment on the CIA director's travel but given the extraordinary circumstances in this case and the false claims being leveled by the Russians at the CIA we can confirm that the director was in Kiev as part of a trip to Europe,"White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters.

A country that sponsors terrorist training inevitably becomes a victim of terrorists. The U.S. persistently continues running short-sighted policies, jeopardizing its own population.

After Iraq, where Islamists threaten to remove U.S. puppet Maliki, it is now Right Sector militants in Ukraine, who will soon be fighting against puppet Poroshenko and their "parent number 2" - the Poles.

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Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina warned on Sunday that the next large-scale terrorist attack, similar to 9/11 attacks in 2001, can be organized by the Jihadi group that terrorizes Baghdad today - the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant" (ISIL). The senator proposed to immediately conduct air strikes on militants' positions to prevent such a development. "We need air power immediately to stop the advance toward Baghdad," said Graham on "Face the Nation." According to him, he proceeds from the information obtained from CIA sources. "I think it's inevitable. The seeds of 9/11 are being planted all over Iraq and Syria. You don't have to believe me, this is what they're telling you they're gonna do. They're not hiding their agenda. They want an Islamic caliphate," Graham said. "They plan to drive us out of the Mideast by attacking us here at home.

"The ISIL 8,000-strong army, which the Americans help to overthrow the government of Bashar al-Assad in Syria, is sponsored by the money of their allies - the Gulf countries: Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. This is evidenced by the report made by the Brookings Institution. "Over the last two and a half years, Kuwait has emerged as a financing and organizational hub for charities and individuals supporting Syria's myriad rebel groups. These donors have taken advantage of Kuwait's unique freedom of association and its relatively weak financial rules to channel money to some of the estimated 1,000 rebel brigades now fighting against Syrian president Bashar al-Asad," the report says.

The NSA document reveals the United States, Israel, and Britain are responsible for the creation of ISIS.

Earlier this month*Nabil Na’eem, the founder of the Islamic Democratic Jihad Party and former top al-Qaeda commander, told the Beirut-based pan-Arab TV station al-Maydeen all current al-Qaeda affiliates, including ISIS, work for the CIA.

ISIS is a well-armed and trained terrorist group now in control of large areas of Iraq and Syria.The NSA document states the group was established by U.S., British and Israeli intelligence as part of a strategy dubbed “the hornet’s nest” to draw Islamic militants from around the world to Syria.

Governments from Around the World – Including Western, Islamic, Asian and African Nations – ADMIT They Use False Flag Terror

Submitted by*George Washington*on 07/08/2014 11:12 -0400

Governments from around the world admit they carry out false flag terror:

A major with the Nazi SS*admitted*at the Nuremberg trials that – under orders from the chief of the Gestapo – he and some other Nazi operatives faked attacks on their own people and resources which they blamed on the Poles, to justify the invasion of Poland. Nazi general Franz Halder also testified at the Nuremberg trials that Nazi leader Hermann Goeringadmitted*to setting fire to the German parliament building, and then falsely blaming the communists for the arson

Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev*admitted*in writing that the Soviet Union’s Red Army shelled the Russian village of Mainila in 1939, and declared that the fire originated from Finland as a basis launching the Winter War four days later

Israel*admits*that an Israeli terrorist cell operating in Egypt planted bombs in several buildings, including U.S. diplomatic facilities, then left behind “evidence” implicating the Arabs as the culprits (one of the bombs detonated prematurely, allowing the Egyptians to identify the bombers, and several of the Israelis later confessed) (and see*this*and*this)

"Malaysia Airlines has lost contact of MH17 from Amsterdam," the Malaysia Airlines*tweeted. "The last known position was over Ukrainian airspace."

There were reportedly*295 people on board (280 passengers and 15 crew) when it*crashed*in Torez, about 25 miles from the Russian border in the region of Donetsk. There were*23 Americans*on the flight. There were no survivors.

"Locals say everything exploded in the air, fell in pieces, both bodies and plane itself," Journalist Noah Sneider*tweeted*from the area. "[People]*thought they were being bombed."

An adviser to the Ukraine Interior Minister*says*pro-Russia separatists shot down the passenger plane*with a Russian-made*BUK*ground-to-air missile system. The rebels have*shot down*multiple aircraft in the past month but deny involvement in the Malaysia Airlines incident.

"Spoke to Ukraine separatist leader [Oleh] Tsarev," Time correspondent Simon Shuster*tweeted. "Says they don't have the weapons to take down*#MH17.

Hung up when asked about their BUK missiles.

"Crucially, the separatists in the area*reportedly*commandeered a set*of this system as of last month.

Further,*The Interpreter reports*the Ukrainian journalist Roman Bochkala and an AP journalist have seen separatists with the BUK system.*

Published time: June 15, 2014 08:15*Edited time: June 16, 2014 11:45Get short URL

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In an incident that may be a first in diplomatic history, Kiev’s top diplomat publicly ‘effed’ the head of another state. Foreign Minister Andrey Deshchitsa chanted “Putin’s a f**ker” with a cheering crowd that earlier vandalized the Russian embassy.

Deshchitsa arrived at the scene of the*heated protest*- which involved overturning cars belonging to embassy staff, the desecration of a Russian flag and pelting the building with firecrackers and paint - in an apparent attempt to defuse the crowd.

We have people on the scene now (1:45PM EST) who have found a bag of passports and medical equipment.* We will keep you updated.

Initial stories, traced back to Israeli intelligence, that a Russian jet is responsible for downing the Malaysian Airlines 777 with all aboard, are being disseminated to anyone stupid enough to listen.* Showing their hand this early is a monumental blunder.

Here is what we have so far, unconfirmed.* An American built F 15 fighter took off from an airfield in Azerbaijan.* Back in 2010, Azerbaijan claimed that this and one other airfield was taken over by Armenian militants.* However, these two facilities were home to Israeli aircraft that relocated there as while participating in training exercises with the Turkish*Air Force.* Turkey allowed Israel to train pilots in strategic bombing*in areas selected because they closely resembled potential Israeli targets in Iran.

WASHINGTON —*The United States imposed new sanctions Wednesday on lucrative Russian energy and defense entities, as well as major banks, as the Obama administration struggles for a way to quell an insurgency in eastern Ukraine widely believed to be backed by Moscow.

The penalties significantly expand on previous U.S. sanctions, which hit Russian individuals and companies with travel bans and asset freezes. But the new sanctions stop short of fully cutting off key Russian economic sectors, a step U.S. officials said they were continuing to hold in reserve in case Moscow launches a full-scale invasion of Ukraine or takes similarly provocative actions.

Obama was expected to speak about the sanctions from the White House Wednesday afternoon.

The Treasury Department sanctions target two major Russian energy firms, Novatek and Rosneft, and a pair of leading Russian financial institutions, Gazprombank and VEB. The sanctions restrict the entities' ability to access U.S. capital markets, officials said.

Eight Russian arms firms responsible for the production of small arms, mortar shells and tanks were also hit with sanctions.

The U.S. announcement came as European leaders met into the night in Brussels to discuss taking their own measures aimed at helping ease tensions along Russia's border with Ukraine. EU diplomats were also looking at penalties that would go beyond the current travel bans and asset freezes against individuals, though it was unclear whether their sanctions would go as far the U.S.

Some European leaders have been wary of deepening penalties on Moscow out of fear that their own economies could suffer, given the deep trade ties with Russia. In recent days, Obama administration officials have been pressuring their European counterparts to press forward and warning that they could take unilateral action if the EU continued to hesitate.

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Officials met with EU diplomats in Washington Monday and Obama has made a series of calls to leaders from Britain, France and Germany.

Steven Pifer, the former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, said the American sanctions will add uncertainty to the Russia economy.

"These are serious sanctions. They target major Russian energy companies and financial institutions," said Pifer, who currently works as an analyst at the Brookings Institution think tank in Washington.

The U.S. has preferred to levy penalties in conjunction with Europe, both to present a united Western front against Russia and to avoid putting U.S. companies at a disadvantage by limiting their access to Russian markets while European counterparts continue to operate without restrictions.

For months, the West has been seeking to punish Russia for annexing the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine and allegedly backing pro-Russian rebels that have occupied buildings in eastern Ukraine. While those rebels have lost ground in recent weeks, many have begun to group.

The Pentagon also said Wednesday that Russian combat troops are again building up along the border with Ukraine. U.S. officials said they also believe Moscow may be sending heavy weapons into the country to aid the separatists.

Ukraine and the West have accused Russia of fomenting the insurgency by sending troops and weapons, including tanks and rocket launchers, something Moscow denies.

Also included on Wednesday's sanctions list were four individuals:

Putin adviser Igor Shchegolev,

Russian State Duma Deputy Speaker Sergei Neverov,

Ukrainian separatist leader Aleksandr Borodai

and Sergey Beseda, an official with Russia's Federal Security Service, the intelligence agency that replaced the KGB after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

The missiles are about 1.5 to 1.8*m (5 to 6*ft) in length and weigh about 17 to 18*kg (37 to 40*lb), depending on the model. Shoulder-fired SAMs generally have a target detection range of about 10*km (6*mi) and an engagement range of about 6*km (4*mi), so aircraft flying at 6,100 metres (20,000*ft) (3.8 miles) or higher are relatively safe.[6]*The acronym MANPADS is commonly mistaken to have a singular form of "MANPAD"—this is incorrect, as even a singular unit is still a system and would have the final S in the acronym.

Moscow (AFP) - The US and EU bolstered sanctions against Russia over its alleged support of separatists in Ukraine, drawing an angry rebuke on Thursday from Moscow which said the measures amounted to "blackmail".

President Barack Obama in sanctions imposed Wednesday took his first direct swipes at the Russian economy's finance, military and energy sectors, further escalating the worst standoff between the Kremlin and the West since the Cold War.

Washington had warned last week that Moscow had to demonstrate a clean break from separatists or face the tougher sanctions.

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But Kiev laid new allegations against Russia Thursday, saying a Russian fighter jet on Wednesday shot down a Ukrainian warplane over its territory.

The Russian foreign ministry reacted to sanctions in a furious statement: "We do not intend to tolerate blackmail and reserve the right to take retaliatory measures" against the US.

"Without any doubt in this case (sanctions) are driving Russian-US relations towards a dead-end, (and) are inflicting very serious damage on them," Putin said while on a visit to Brasilia.

"And I am convinced that this will harm the national long-term interests of the American state, the American people," Putin told reporters.

US sanctions like the ones imposed "have never put anyone on their knees," added Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, predicting a "rise of anti-American attitudes".

Moscow gave a milder response to EU sanctions, with the foreign ministry saying it had "submitted to blackmail from the American administration" and should have "its own voice".

Ukraine hailed the tougher sanctions, with Western-backed President Petro Poroshenko saying he welcomed the EU moves that involve the European Investment Bank and European Bank of Reconstruction and Development halting finance for projects in Russia."

The European Council has taken an important step to support the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of Ukraine," Poroshenko said on his Facebook page.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk praised the measures from Washington for showing "the unity of the US and EU in their dedication to the values of democracy and promotion of peace and support for Ukraine".

"Russia will pay for starting a war against Ukraine," Yatsenyuk said at a government meeting.

Western leaders say the punitive measures are designed to pressure Moscow into forcing the rebels to end their three-month insurgency that has claimed more than 600 lives.

Russian markets down -

But the immediate pain was felt in Moscow with the two Russian market indices falling by 2.7% and 4.05% Thursday and the ruble plunging against the euro and dollar to 47.1 and 34.8, respectively.

Shares in two giant oil firms now barred from US capital markets under the new sanctions fell steeply with Rosneft dropping 4.74 percent and OAO Novatek shares plummeting 7.88 percent on MICEX stock exchange at around 0900 GMT.

The ruble fell sharply to 34.92 against the dollar and 47.25 against the euro by around 0930 GMT.

The United States has also targeted major Russian financial institutions, Gazprombank and VEB, as well as eight Russian arms firms to try to punish Moscow for failing to halt the alleged flow of weapons across the border.

Jet 'shot by Russia'-

On the ground in eastern Ukraine fierce fighting between government forces and pro-Moscow rebels has intensified in recent days with some 55 civilians killed since the weekend alone.

Ukraine's National Security and Defence Council on Thursday accused a Russian air force plane of downing its jet over Ukrainian territory the day before with a rocket strike.

The fighting even forced a group of more than a dozen Ukrainian border guards to flee into Russia seeking medical help for their injuries, the Russian authorities said.

Germany and France have been spearheading a push to revive talks between Kiev and the rebels over a potential ceasefire deal but attempts by mediators to hold a Skype videoconference with the insurgents fell through Tuesday.

Senior separatist leaders have said they are committed to holding the Internet consultations but gave conflicting information on whether they would take place Thursday or Friday.

Ukrainian forces made a string of major gains after Poroshenko tore up an unsuccessful ceasefire earlier this month, but progress has slowed since rebels retreated into two major regional centres where they have pledged to fight to the end.

MOSCOW —*President Vladimir Putin on Thursday lamented the latest round of U.S. sanctions against Russia, saying they will stalemate bilateral relations and hurt not only Russian but also American businesses.

Russia's benchmark MICEX was down 2.9 percent in late afternoon trading Thursday upon news of the sanctions while Russia's biggest oil company, Rosneft, was nearly 5 percent down and second-largest oil producer was trading 9 percent lower.

Putin's comments came hours after President Barack Obama announced broader sanctions against Russia, targeting two major energy firms including Rosneft, a pair of powerful financial institutions, eight weapons firms and four individuals. The increased U.S. economic pressure is designed to end the insurgency in eastern Ukraine that is widely believed to be backed by the Kremlin.

On Planet McGovern – or my personal take on it – realpolitik rules. The State Department controls the prime funding sources for non-military intervention, including the controversial*National Endowment for Democracy*(NED), which Washington created to fund covert and clandestine action after Ramparts magazine and others exposed how the CIA channeled money through private foundations, including the Ford Foundation.

State also controls the far-better-funded Agency for International Development (USAID), along with a growing network of front groups, cut-outs, and private contractors. State coordinates with like-minded governments and their parallel institutions, mostly in Canada and Western Europe.

State's "democracy bureaucracy" oversees nominally private but largely government funded groups like Freedom House. And through Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Victoria Nuland, State had Geoff Pyatt coordinate the coup in Kiev.

The CIA, NSA, and Pentagon likely provided their specialized services, while some of the private contractors exhibited shadowy skill sets. But if McGovern knows the score, as he should, diplomats ran the campaign to destabilize Ukraine and did the hands-on dirty work.

On April 4, 2010 – Malaysia’s internationally known politician,*Anwar Ibrahim*(born 1947), country’s former Deputy Prime Minister (1993-98)and Finance Minister (1991-98) and currently the Opposition leader – claimed*that Israeli intelligence agents (Mossad) have infiltrated into Malaysia’s Bukit Aman (Federal Police headquarter in Kuala Lumpur). The espionage link to Israel is the company named Asiasoft Global Pte Ltd. (Singapore), which has worked as a sub-contractor to upgrade the telecommunication systems for the police. Two of the directors of the firm, Izhak David Nakar and Ido Schechter, are reportedly Israeli citizen.

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However, this is not the first time the ‘Israeli connection’ is raised. In 2008, then Malasian Home Minister had told the Parliament: “Then between November and December, a police report was lodged by the responsible police officers and investigated by one ASP Sairah. Then Sairah was transferred to Taiping and there was no news after that,” The Malaysian Insider.

How reliable is Anwar Ibrahim? Well, he is known for his good connections with the Jewish Lobby in the US through personal friendship and links to CIA-funded think tanks. In 2000, Malaysian politician Lim Kit Siang had asked former prime minister Dr. Mahathir Mohamad to declare the outcome of a three year police investigation to whether Anwar Ibrahim is a CIA operative. Anwar Ibrahim has been a good friend of former US Secretary of Defense*under Bill Clinton administration, William S. Cohen (1997-2001), son of a Russian Jewish immigrant Reuben Cohen.

PETALING JAYA: The unofficial list of the MH17 flight manifest states that 20 Malaysians and two infants were on board the plane that was reportedly shot down by insurgents near the Russian-Ukrainian border.

The highest number of passengers are from Netherlands with 143 passengers. Australia comes in second with 27 passengers.

There were 11 Indonesian passengers and one infant on-board the ill-fated flight. Britain has six passengers, France and Germany have four each, Belgium have three and Canada one.

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Nationalities of the other 58 passengers were not stated in the list. 15 MAS crew members were on the plane.

MH17 was brought down over eastern Ukraine on Thursday, killing all 295 people aboard and sharply raising the stakes in a conflict between Kiev and pro-Moscow rebels in which Russia and the West back opposing sides.

The scale of the disaster affecting scores of foreigners could prove a turning point for international pressure to resolve a crisis that has claimed hundreds of lives in Ukraine since pro-Western protests toppled the Moscow-backed president in Kiev in February and Russia annexed Crimea a month later.

Despite the shooting down of several Ukrainian military aircraft in the area in recent months, including two this week, and renewed accusations from Kiev that Russian forces were taking a direct part, international air lanes had remained open.

MAS said air traffic controllers lost contact with flight MH-17 at 1415 GMT as it flew over eastern Ukraine towards the Russian border, bound for Asia with 280 passengers and 15 crew aboard.

Flight tracking data indicated it was at its cruising altitude of 10,000 metres when it disappeared.

Ever since 9/11, it seems no tragedy or act of mass violence can go without a litany of Internet tin foil-types flapping their yaps about it on the Internet.

It didn’t take long after Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 crashed in the Ukraine for the conspiracy theories to begin surfacing. No, it didn’t take long at all.

A roundup of the early theories:

1.- Whatever brought down the plane was actually intended to bring down Putin:

Russia Today*cites*a report from the Interfax News Agency quoting unnamed sources who claim the doomed flight had a similar path as a plane carrying Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“I can say that Putin’s plane and the Malaysian Boeing intersected at the same point and the same echelon,” the source reportedly said on the condition of anonymity. “That was close to Warsaw on 330-m echelon at the height of 10,100 meters.

The presidential jet was there at 16:21 Moscow time and the Malaysian aircraft—15:44 Moscow time.”The report caused some, uh, speculation on Twitter:

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“At the same time,” the Russia Today report later corrected, “there have been reports contradicting Interfax’s report,” with sources telling other news outlets that Putin has not flown over the conflict-stricken country in some time.

Video: Pretty much everyone expressing dismay over White House response to world falling apart

Mary Katharine Ham, 2 hours ago

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Was the Bear loose today? If Valerie Jarrett wanted to get a hashtag going for the president, #smh might have worked. Shep wasn’t the only one baffled by the White House’s insistence on pretending today was a day for the normal shake run and spin.

Via the*Free Beacon, first*ABC notes that the president seemed blindsided by Israel’s starting ground operations in Gaza today. Jonathan Karl cites the President’s and State Department’s optimism just hours earlier that a ceasefire would happen.

One day after the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine, investigators are working to learn more about the crash — and who might be responsible. The passenger jet had nearly 300 people on board; none survived.

The plane had not sent a distress signal. It reportedly came apart at a cruising altitude of 33,000 feet, with its wreckage landing in territory held by pro-Russian insurgents who have been fighting the central government in Kiev.

The flight plan filed by the plane's pilots had requested an altitude of 35,000 feet during their passage over Ukraine, but air traffic control in Ukraine instructed them to fly at 33,000 feet,*Malaysia Airlines says.

President Obama will discuss the situation in Ukraine in a White House event that's scheduled to begin at 11:30 a.m. ET. We'll update this post as necessary.

The Investigation

U.S. intelligence experts suspect a surface-to-air missile hit the airliner, a Boeing 777.

"They have not determined where the missile was fired from," NPR's Jackie Northam reports for*Morning Edition. "What complicates the issue is that this type of missile, known in Russian as Buk, is mobile — it's meant to move around a battlefield. That makes it more difficult to determine the point of origin. Ukraine and Russia have this type of missile system, and there's speculation that the rebels also possess it, as well."

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As they try to piece together how Flight MH17 was brought down, U.S. experts are analyzing a recording*released by Ukraine's governmentthat it says is a string of intercepted phone calls in which separatist rebels acknowledge that they shot down the airliner.

As NPR's Dina Temple-Raston reports, U.S. intelligence has not yet publicly authenticated the recording.

"Privately, U.S. officials say they suspect separatist rebels were behind the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17," Dina reports.The tape includes a man stating, "We have just shot down a plane," and then referring to the area of the crash. Ukraine's transcription shows confusion over whether the plane in question was a military or civilian craft.

"U.S. officials say they are still analyzing the audio," Dina reports. "They are also using algorithms and mathematics to pinpoint where the missile was fired from.

"The separatists say they've recovered the black boxes from the plane's wreckage, according to multiple news reports. Some reports have stated that the flight recorders might be sent to Russia, but Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says Moscow has "no plans to seize the flight recorders," according to state-owned*news agency RT.

Reporter Noah Sneider is in the Donetsk region; he says he has seen separatists near the wreckage.

"They have taken control of the crash site, because they're in control of this region," Sneider tells NPR's Newscast unit. "The Ukrainian forces have a position not too far from here, but for the most part, this stretch of road is controlled by the rebels.

"They were the first ones on the scene," he adds, "and they're the ones who are now guarding the entrances to it."

The Ukrainian military has several batteries of Buk surface-to-air missile systems with at least 27 launchers, capable of bringing down high-flying jets, in the Donetsk region where the Malaysian passenger plane crashed, Russian Defense Ministry said.

According to the Russian Defense Ministry information, units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine located in the crash-site are equipped with anti-aircraft missile systems of "Buk-M1” ... These complexes in their tactical and technical characteristics are capable of detecting air targets at ranges of up to 160 kilometers and hit them at full altitude range at a distance of over 30 kilometers,”*the ministry’s statement reads as cited by Ria.

Earlier, Itar-Tass and Interfax news agencies were citing a source familiar with the issue, who said that another battery of Buk systems is currently being prepared for shipment to Donetsk region from the Ukrainian city of Kharkov.

The Donetsk region remains the scene of heavy fighting between government troops and the forces of the opposition, which refused to recognize the regime change in Kiev and demand federalization.

A Malaysian Airlines aircraft en route from Amsterdam to Malaysia crashed in Eastern Ukraine – not far from the Russian border – on Thursday.

Does this look like a weapon system Russia would allow "Separatist Militants" to use?

Russia has more advanced missle defence systems, Ukraine has alot of these. Ukraine downed the plane (false flag) to blame the separatist, in order to sway public opinion against Russia. The NWO media will blame Russia no matter what evidence is recovered.

Also, would'nt a missle defence weapon like this have radar to show what type of aircraft your targetting?

If it turns out Russia did indeed give this system to 'rebel separatist', then they truly are stupid. But wait, what about all of those sophisticated TRILLION DOLLAR (10,000 Strong)SPY/MILITARY SATELLITES circling the earth, I'm sure Uncle Sam will share the "untouched data"???

3) As to the “Buk”: in theory, for the system’s successful work, a minimum of 4 out of 5 vehicles within the complex is necessary: the commandment car, the target locator car, the targeting car and the firing point with the missiles.* One can do without the charging car, which transports additional missiles, in case the missiles have been set up on the firing point in advance.* 15-17 highly-qualified military specialists are needed to service these military specialists.

4) The principle of action of “Buk” air-defence system: – under close supervision of the commander, the locator determines the target and the coordinates; – the operator of the firing system launches the missile in the given direction; – the targeting car lights up the target with radio waves; – this reflected signal is captured by the self-targeting system of the missiles and its computer corrects the course; – the missile explodes several metres before reaching the plane, sending metal rods flying everywhere that damage the fuselage, the engines, the electric system etc.

5) “Buk’s” range is 40-50 kilometres horizontally and 20-25 vertically. It is a general military weapon (covers the soldiers from air attack directly on the battlefield), and not an air-defence forces weapon.

6) The air-defence system’s locators show three kinds of targets (as radio signals):* – missile (one leading engine); – destroyer, storm jet or a similar small military jet (the turbine of the engine creates a recognisable radio signal); – strategic bombarder or transportation jet (a big plane with many engines). The latter category could include a passenger vessel, as the radio image is identical.

7) If it is a “Buk,” then:* – it could have come from Russian territory. The caterpillar track can take the vehicles even through fields; – it could have been part of the captured Ukrainian Armed Forces division (if they indeed had all the parts of the complex). However military specialists for such accordant work were clearly imported, the reserve army is insufficient in this case; – it could have even worked from Russian territory, somewhere around Kuybyshevo. However, the Boeing was moving with its cruising speed (about 900 km/hr) and during the fall its parts continued falling to the east because of inertia.

8) This could have been not a “Buk,” but a different air-defence system.

According to this report, Putin was in flight*during his call*to Obamareturning to Moscow*aboard hispresidential aircraft*from*Brazil*when he was notified that there were a number of*“critical radar anomalies”occurring over*EUROCONTROL*zones inCentral Europe.

UK seeks more punishment to Russia despite
NO INTERNATIONAL INVESTIGATION WHAT-SO EVER HAVING BEEN STARTED.NOTE-(seems the true Criminals don't want a honest investigation???)

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13:33 GMT:Britain will on Tuesday seek to persuade other European leaders to impose further sanctions on Russia over the downing of a Malaysian jet carrying 298 passengers, Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said on Sunday.“We will ... seek to get our European partners to agree to go further in terms of sanctions if Russia hasn't radically changed its position by then,” Hammond told the BBC ahead of a meeting of the European Union’s Foreign Affairs Council on Tuesday. (Reuters)